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[Music]
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Welcome to Asbain Pocra Poco. Hi Katano.
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How's it going?
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Hey Tanya, it's going well.
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How are you?
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I'm doing all right. We're going to be
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talking about something fun today. Why
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are we talking about this today?
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So I have a I have a I have friends. Not
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a friend. I have friends. I do I do have
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friends and they have children. And they
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are they are other friends with children
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and their two oldest boys, Evban and
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Daniel. I'm going to give them a little
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shout out. They did something insane
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actually two summers in a row. And I
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didn't know much about it, so I had to
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look it up. And that is the Camino D
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Santiago. And when they tell me their
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boys were doing this and then they told
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me what it was all about, I was like,
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"Uh, that's insane." So now we're going
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to tell everyone how insane that is.
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Yeah. And my I had a friend that did it
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as well. So, it's kind of one of those
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things that you're thinking, I should do
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that. Whether we ever will, I don't
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know. But my friend also did it with I
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think one of his children, and they
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loved it. So, it's definitely worth
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doing. And I think it's something that
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we're going to give you a little bit of
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a history and a little bit of how it
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works. And, you know, have at it if it's
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your kind of thing, I'd say.
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Right. I think so.
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So we could start with the Camino de
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Santiago is called that because it is
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which is basically the way of St. James
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which is it's an ancient network of
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pilgrimage routes across Europe that
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kind of go up to kind of through I mean
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obviously a lot in Spain, Portugal, but
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then France and Germany. It really goes
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out like it spiders out like way further
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than I thought.
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Right. It's like that that adage all all
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roads lead to Rome. All all roads lead
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to Santiago,
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right?
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Which is like I think really cool. And
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and St. James is the um the apostle St.
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James, which is supposedly where his
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tomb is, which is where everyone's
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heading to. And in Spanish, Santiago is
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a combination of s Saint and Yaga, which
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is a form of Jane. So it's James. So
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that's how you get to Santiago,
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which you don't just learn that now.
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That was my I was this days old when I
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learned that.
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Right. So, we can stop now. That's the
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end of our Paco Apoco.
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We've
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hope this was informative for you.
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Goodbye.
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Absolutely.
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So, according to the legend, St. James's
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body was taken from Galysia uh was taken
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to Galysia from Jerusalem and then well
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after his beheading. Sorry to be a
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little morbid, but um and then it was
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eventually buried in this forest which
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is now where the cathedral is which is
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there was you know back in the olden
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timey days it was not as populated.
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That is not a small distance. Can we
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just start there? So I really really far
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if that's a thing.
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Yeah, I'm thinking that's very far.
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Very far.
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And now the current cathedral was built
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over this ancient tomb. And and for
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hundreds and hundreds of years now
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people are making what is called a
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pilgrimage to the site. Right.
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Yeah. I mean the tomb was so let's say
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the he was left there and his tomb was
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he was put in a tomb there and then it
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was basically forgotten and overgrown
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and left and nobody knew where it was
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basically. So with the invasions of the
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Christians in the fifth century and the
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Moors conquering that area in the 8th
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century, it just kind of it I mean that
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was it. It was forgotten. Nobody knew
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where it was.
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And then we have a ninth century
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Galatian hermit um also known as
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possibly a shepherd called Pelagius.
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Okay.
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Who apparently discovered this tomb.
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I love the story.
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[Laughter]
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There was, you know, as they say, there
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was lights and sounds and um and and a
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star, right?
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Got to have a star.
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Got to have a star
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and that led to the remains of the
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apostle. He found them in in a shrouded
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wood. Would we call it a shrouded wood?
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Yeah. 800 years after his death. So
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that's no small little feat to find this
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accidentally. And then so the so
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Pelagius then reported what he found to
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a bishop named Theodmer. Theodur I
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Theodir I don't know.
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And that bishop then informed King
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Alfonso I of Aurius and he's the first
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pilgrim. He made the first pilgrimage as
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it were the first hike trek to the site
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because this was a very exciting find.
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So
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right
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off goes the king and then this after
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that. So basically the king walked from
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Oeddo to the newly discovered tomb
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creating that first chamino which is
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called the chamino primitivo which of
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course means first
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first primitive original exactly and
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that would be the one if you want to
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walk the one that the king first walked
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that's the one you want to do.
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Okay. Is that the one that gives you
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street cred? Are you getting
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I don't know since neither of us have
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done it. We don't know where the street
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cred is in this in this activity. But
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I mean, is there like a bragging right
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if I did the Kamino primitivo? What did
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you do? Right.
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I would have to imagine, and we'll get
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into this later, that the street cred is
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how much you did because you can walk
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for days and days and days or you can
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just do a little bit at the end. So, I
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would imagine the street cred comes in
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how much you did. That would be my
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guess.
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How long? Yeah. How many weeks you were
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there? Yeah,
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that would be what I would be bragging
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about if I did more. If I did more of
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the roots than you did, I'd be like,
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"Huh?" Well, you know, I didn't
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Yeah. I didn't do the cliffnotes version
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like that.
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Right. Exactly.
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So, back to the little bit of the last
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little bit of history, which is that
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King Alfonso I established a chapel
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there, of course, and was inspired then
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to for to construct a grand cathedral.
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And the current romanesque cathedral
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that is currently there was began
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construction in 1075. And that is the
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Santiago de Compostella Cathedral. And
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that is that beautiful big cathedral
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that
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gorgeous. I mean, surprisingly a
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ginormous cathedral for a for the size
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of city that it is, right? I mean,
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no, absolutely spectacular.
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Yeah.
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And we talked about the Primitivo route,
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but there's there's a network of, as it
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were, a network of different routes you
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can take. I guess also where you're
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starting from, you I mean we I guess we
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could start our own route from here from
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Valencia if we wanted to and
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that might be I mean they are like
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proper roots I think where
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I think so. Yeah.
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Don't know that we have that kind of
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power but hey go for it. Who am I to do
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it? But some some of the names are the
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Camino Frances which obviously
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originates in France, the Camino
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Portuguese, the Camino del Norte, Via
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del Via de La Plata, and the Cam, as we
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said, the Camino Permativo.
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They also have a Camino Ingl, but I
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don't think that goes all the way up to
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England. I don't think unless you're
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walking on water. I don't know.
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I don't know.
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Uh, and the French one obviously that
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goes all the way to the French border
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that stretches 500 miles. I mean they
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are really very very long. So
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I think that and the Portuguese one like
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you said all the way to Portugal the
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north one all the way north. So you
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really can go for miles and miles and
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miles
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miles and miles. I mean your your your
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steps you're going to get your steps in
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if that's what you're if you're worried
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about your steps.
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Good place to do it. It's also
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recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage
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site obviously I guess because it's so
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in so crazy popular and that obviously
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gives it a lot of protection in various
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ways.
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I'm just going to add here on a side
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note I'm noticing in a lot of our finds
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and and and things that we're
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researching about Spain got a lot of
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UNESCO heritage things going on here.
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I'm just saying shout out to Spain
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giving them their props.
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We might just want to go to their
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website and see what it is and work our
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pock backwards from there.
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cheat sheet.
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Sounds good. So, I would like to say
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now, why would someone do this? Because
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I asked my friend like his kids. I'm
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like, I mean, why would your kids, they
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were like 14 and 60 when they did this.
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Why would they want to do it? And he
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told me that they had researched it and
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it was just something that they were
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inspired to do. So I mean I think
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there's people you know originally it
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was a very religious thing to do but now
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I think it's people's own spiritual
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growth not necessarily the St. James,
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but this has been a path that's there
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and people want to test their own limits
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and boundaries and have their own
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epiphies along the way and and do
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something that is ancient, right? Meet
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people on the way who kind of sh have a
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shared experience.
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So, I think the last thing you said is
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is kind of where you hit the nail on the
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head, which I think is a lot of people
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are doing it for that really that
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experience of community and having a
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place where you're doing something with
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other people that you maybe you don't
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know them, but you you meet people and
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everyone's very social there. And I
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think that's I think that's really an
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experience and a spiritual experience
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that you can have regardless of what
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your your you know end goal is. Right.
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Right. Right. And what I was reading is
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that there is kind of a a collective as
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you say as you have said like a
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collective experience but there is this
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kind of you know almost like it's like
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an ancient Burning Man type of thing
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right where people there is there
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sharing of goods. People are leaving
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things behind to lighten their load. So
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as you're walking, you may find
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someone's walking stick that you can use
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or a cup that was left behind and if
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there's something you don't need, you
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leave it behind. And you know, it's that
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kind of the Camino will provide, right?
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Just so trust and faith.
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Absolutely. And there's also an element
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of lightening your load and that also
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part of that is leaving things that you
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brought with you for yourself to lighten
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your load, but also for other people to
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use. And there is a whole system that
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they have that the Pilgrim Office has
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for recycling things and making sure
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that things that get left are given to
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people or or taken care of if they're
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maybe not in good shape or whatever. So
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there's a whole system there for sharing
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which I think is really really
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interesting.
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And then what I also found was
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interesting and cool is that people will
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bring a a stone from home and leave it
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on the trail.
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Oh, that's cool. I like that. That's
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really neat.
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So I'm I'm liking that.
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I like that a lot. And then we have the
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scallop shell. So
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which is the symbol, right?
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That's the symbol. If you want to share
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your knowledge of the scallop shell
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because I think you have spoken to your
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friend about that.
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So what's really cool is that they have
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this like scallop shell that has the St.
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James's cross on it, but it's used in
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signage, too, that that the cross points
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the way if you're taking a left like it
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points or to a right to to keep you on
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your path.
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Okay, that's probably a good idea. I
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hope they are very well secured.
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Think about some trickster.
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And you'll find them like in the
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stonework in the pavement, too. It's not
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just like a, you know, not in the bush,
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but like you you're walking through
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towns and cities and you'll see the the
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shells. you keep. It's almost like, you
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know, the dropped popcorn in the forest
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to find your way out, you know.
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So, why is it a shell?
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Well, it's a scallop shell for a reason
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because the it's, you know, all the
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lines of the scallop shell represent,
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you know, all all the roads leading to a
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certain point, right?
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Oh, that's great. Okay, that makes that
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makes really that makes sense. Yeah, I
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like that.
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And then there's the fantasy aspect,
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too, is that St. James was covered in
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shells after his miraculous journey from
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Jerusalem to Spain that he came through
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the sea. So, right,
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the shells had attached to his body.
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Yep.
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And then originally back in the day, the
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shell itself was a vessel. So, they used
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it as a plate and a drinking thing. So,
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you could carry that with you and to
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drink your water and to eat your food
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off of.
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Oh, very nice.
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I mean, it's kind of a lot
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crafty. That's
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So, I feel like I've seen online you can
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just like buy shells, which I think is
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you shouldn't be able to really, but you
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really I mean, that's nice to really
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come back with with that, I think, as
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well. And if we're talking about
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credentials, I mean, let's talk a little
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bit about quickly before we end about
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how long these things are and what there
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are credentials that you can get.
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There's a pilgrim passport and the
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routes are walked by around 440,000
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hikers each year, which I think is
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astounding really.
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That's a lot. Yeah. I mean, I guess you
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won't get lost and feel alone if there's
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that many people walking your path.
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And I I just, you know, I'm sure it's
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maybe I'm sure at certain times of year
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it's very popular because of the weather
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in different parts of these roots. But
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what you can do is there is a medieval
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credential system that still exists
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where you can collect stamps to earn
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your compostella certificate.
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So you can walk, you don't have to do
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this. You can walk the route and go have
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fun and do whatever you want. But if you
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we were talking earlier about like you
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know your bragging rights
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you you probably want this certificate.
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I would imagine
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you want to whip out the passport and
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the certificate when you after you've
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told the story to your friends otherwise
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like yeah sure sure you did.
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Oh yes there it is. And and from what I
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have heard is that you can get these
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stamps because I heard because I I
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haven't done it is that on the route
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like you can get them from churches and
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the Alberay Alberue I don't know how you
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pronounce it which is the special host
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that are along the route
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and restaurants bars you places will
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have it and you can go there to prove
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that you've done it. But we can also
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talk about is for the cheaters. What's
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the cheat path? Well, most people would
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walk between 20 and 25 km a day, which
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is about 12 to 15 miles.
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Wow,
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that's quite a lot. And though obviously
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that that would vary based on your
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abilities, if you're going to you have
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to at least walk the final 100
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kilometers from Sia to Santiago, which
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takes about 5 to seven days to get the
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official certificate. So, okay, that's
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that would be the I think and you know,
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we might be off a little bit, but that
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would be the official part that you need
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to do at least in order to get the
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certificate because you have to pass a
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lot of these places that you just
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mentioned to get your stamps. So, if
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you're not walking enough of a distance,
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you're not going to get enough stamps to
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get the certificate.
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You're not going to get enough stamps.
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Exactly. But, if you've done more of a
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distance, your passport's going to have
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even more stamps. So, then I'm sure
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there's people showing off their
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passports. Oh, you got 20 stamps. Oh,
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yeah. You really did it. Yeah, you're
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really committed. You did it for 5 days.
14:28
Yes. And I do want to also point out,
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we've been talking a lot about walking.
14:32
You can do it on a horseback. You can
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ride a bicycle.
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I think Well,
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maybe not a bicycle.
14:38
A bike sounds hard and a horseback
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sounds really bad for your back. I'll be
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walking.
14:42
Well, and I don't know if you can do
14:44
that on all of the routes, and I don't
14:46
know how reasonable that is, but there
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it there must at least be some parts of
14:49
the routes that you can do on in in
14:51
those manners, which I think is
14:52
interesting, too. Maybe there's a part
14:54
like if you're a cyclist and that's
14:55
really your thing, not walking, there's
14:58
probably a part of it that you can do on
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bicycles which I think is really cool.
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Probably. Yeah. All right. Well, I think
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that's it for our Poco Poco. I
15:07
think so. And I think what they say on
15:09
the road is Buen Camino. Good road ahead
15:13
to make sure that everyone's safe and
15:15
happy on their path of spiritual
15:17
enlightenment. So enjoy. Well, Buen
15:20
Camino and I'll see you at Dathlon to
15:22
get our hiking boots.
15:24
Perfect. See you then. Bye.
15:26
Ciao.
15:30
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15:32
Poco Poco. Since you love us so much,
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Yes, we would. Till the next episode.
16:10
Bye.
16:12
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